FARMING & COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2112, 1 April 1914, Page 10

FARMING & COMMERCIAL.

DEALINrBEES.

PURCHASE OF 1200 COLONIES.(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ■•; -. .Hawera, March 31. , The New Zealand Honey Producers' 'Association has recently completed the purchase '. for' cash of tho business, apiaries; and goodwill of Mr. W. Xenz, Masterton. . The purchase includes twelvo hundred colonies of Italian beea, at present located around - Masterton. Theao will probably be brought to Taranakir ~- ' .''' .~, '-. ~ ' ■'.: / ■ : >;■' ;: TIMARU RAM FAIR. .;■; ■ ' "(By Telegraph— Press Association.) Timaru,;rMarch 31. 'At the annual rain faiif to-day entries ' were not so numerous as last year, but the demand was much bettor, and the 'sale was.tho best for years, nearly all ,'thife rams changing hands. Border Lei-. ';. ,cesters,were first and English Loicesters ,s'e«jndin : demand.. . The.run ofbest . prices'was: Borderl'Leicester'flock.rail's, , ' 5} to 6J'guineas.;, SJ-' to 6jf guineas; Romney, ;s,,guineas ; ■ Ctrriedale, 3 to -4 guine'ds;•' stud ,rams, \ Border- Leicesters,. up to 11 guineas , ; /English Leicesters, to 11J guineas; ; , Romney, to 11 guineas. • ' ;;: : \general:farming news; , .Farmers are,not at all pleased with the'preseht condition of tlie'oat market. ',;■■■ (says, ajsouthern exchange), and.are. reluctant "to sell at present .prices. X The. demand'from the, jiorth is by liomeans : keen}-and unless there is a livening-up from, this source, prospects "Are by, no' , means bright.. ''■ ' ■';''" ' '.''' ;'' ,' ; .. . Pfitato.dlggibg m]full swing. on some K| Southland; farms, .and.-tho yields are to be deal below [ the average. -Blight.is very prevalent. Turnip cro'ps,': although badly in need of'a drenching rain, are thriving well, although club-root is in some instances be In evidence.{. ' '; .Many-large grain 'yields have been recorded in the Crookston district, but . none, to, equal, that .'of Mr.. J.'B.. i Sim, •wlio'.'states that.2s acres of .Garten's Record on liis property has yielded an average "of.-121} : busliels to the acre. vMr. - ' Sim; imported four bushels of the seed three'years'ago. ■ •'..",; :. ( ' ' . There was en view-'ati'the.Farmers' TJnion meeting on Saturday a fine silver . beet plant (states the "Southland Times' , ). This feed has been attracting a good dealiof attehtion for some time, •'-..and the more: farmers are getting to knoiVi about'- it the more they are ■ ;inelined to view it with increasing favour, it is not generally known that silveriitet affords' aisucculent bite for/humans ; as well as our beasts, and many people prefer it to cabbage.-Advantages it possesses arc- fhat the plants last for three seasons, and that, they provide a-first-class vegetable for nine months in 'the year, including the:winter months. . Owing to the, early season a'fair quan- ' tity'of grain, is being carried over the Southland "section of ; - railwaj's.- One firm which up to the middle of April of last year had dealt with but ono , - thousand eight hundred sacks of oats has already put through four thousand sacks. Tho grain is this year in excellent con- - ditionyiirhichlisio pleasant change from what was 1 bsporienced"du.riiig the 1912 - •. and 1913 seasons. -,- '■ As' iiidlcatihg how the''motor is affecting the demand, for oats, a member of an Inyercargill- mercantile firm 'informed a Southland "Times" reporter that he had .'received advice from a reliable Napier authority that in that district the quau-: tity of oats required for feed was twenty thousand sacks less than it at one time was, and /the.reason for the;falling-off was entirely attributed to the use of the motor. 'The reporter's informant'elabor- - iiied on ■ the. position, and maintained that'there was a proportional falling-off ; in the demand in every other district iu the Domiuion. • The diminution in -the quantity consumed in the. North Island : alone he. estimated as being easily four liundredand fifty thousand sacks.

The project of making a shipment of malting , barley to' England with the object of relieving tho local market was forwarded at a meeting of the executive of the Marlborough Farmers' Union held' on. Saturday. It was resolved, to wait on the.barley-growers.of the district in- . dividually and ascertain the quantities they' would'be prepared to send for-, > ward. The response already made among the'farmers to tho proposal, is very encouraging, and the prospects aro that a eubstantial cargo will for shipment towards- the end of next mouth. Mr. H. D. Vavaspurj who is a • . member of the New Zealand Council of the Bristol and Dominions Producers' Association, lias received a satisfactory reply to tho cable he dispatched to the liead-office of.-thatorganisation in Erigland/'rind favourable arrangements for the shipping and-marketing of the grain are assured. According to tho Ashburton' ''Guardian," farmers are very busy, at present skin-ploughing, and labour agents havo lately arranged for. work . for a large number 1 of ploughmen. So far, a sufficient number is available, but it is expected that'later'on' the'usual' scarcity of men to turn, over the land will oc- '■ cur. i- Though, the harvest ie over, there is no surplus of men "seeking employment in Ashbitrtoii.

Th'e beautifully fine weather of the past' two months. and the • favourable Hpring.-.rains 'have combined to produce a remarkable crop of fruit'on Coast;' Trees which- had never before Lome i fruit- supplied their quota this seaaori, iind'older tre'es'had to have'tlieir branches propped up to support the his; cioiis load .under'which they were groan-, ing. ..-. "'"" : -' ; - • /

l'"or.,tLe. first, on record the Hawko's- Bay•'• rye gra?s seed • crop • has proved disappointing. .'Farmers are stroiigly advised by the Journal of Agriculture'to secure 1913 «seed in prefer-en-jo'-to that'harvested this year, the conditions ■'haVing'Tie&n'very 'Unfavourable for the'development of high-grade seed. A high percentage.of the-Haivke's Bay seed is in consequence very much lighter than is usually the case;

The project to establish co-operative' freezmg works in the Manawatu. district !has not met-ivith much success.. Mr. J. Balsillio, one of the. prime movers in the matter, informed a "Standard" reporter that ho was afraid, the scheme would fall through. ' He had been steadily bringing it before farmers, but he could not arouse tho enthusiasm necessary to bring tlio proposal to fruition. •;'•■'- ■•■'•■■• ,■■■'■•■ ■ . ' ' ■'

NEWS AND NOTES.

SHOW JUDGING

(To'the Editor.)

, Sir,—A few iincs re judging jumping events at agricultural shows, it ia an invariable l-ulo for'tho judges of-the light horse classes to judge, the jumping events.' A person-may be a.good judge of light horses) but lie may not know the first part of judging jumpers. I think a man to bo able to recognise a juniper should have done first of all a good amount of ridiiig over, fences. I t'iiink that if-the-judges, selected for. the light horso classes' are Jiot capable of judging tho.jumpiiig events-it would be mor6 satisfactory to select.separate judges for 'these eveuts, as they are aii important feature, of. the show;- Judges that have no confidence in themselves, or, in other words, do not know the game, are afraid to get away from the old jumpers, .or hor'sds with reputations, incase they (the' judges) should make a mistake. I have seen men judging at shows who knew 'no more about jumpers than a pig would about a hqliday. These, .eon.* 10men would be more at home judging noxious weeds or Angora, goats. I think I am safe in saying that judges standing, in the centre of the ring (like Chinese idols) cannot judge properly. They must.keep moving, as they cannot tell whether the horses are jumping their fences at an .angle, landing badly, or making other mistakes too numerous to mention. Of courso it would not'matter much if some of .them etood on their heads while judging, as-very often4liey'.judge the owners,-. not the horses. ' . :, Some of .the' so-called judges, even witlrthe aid of a pair of binoculars, could riot see halfway across the rin<* or find their way unaided to an old man's home. I trust these observations will be taken, as they are, meant,. in good part.—l am, etc., .': HERBERT WELCH..' Lansdowne, Mastertori. . AN EXPORT EUTY ON EWE " ;■■■; ■-■lambs "■ ;, .., ; (To Ihe.Editor.) . .; - 1 Sir,—Rβ embargo, by Sydney wharfmen not to handle frozen meat , , until local prices are reduced,-I consider that the time has arrived hero in New Zealand for the Government to put a small export .duty on ewe' : lambs. Of courso I know the big squatter and freezing companies would be up in arms at orioo against such a duty, but I have no hesitation in saying that if, such-had been done, say, ten years ago, the public would not be paying suoh excessive for mutton as at present, because (ai.l take it) so many hundreds of thousands more sheep to both, consume hero and export at the same time would'be'the result. _ , v : I some twelve, years ago-j>aid a visit to the Old Country, and actually sawNew Zealand Canterbury mutton being sold at -Jd. per lb. less ; than it was being sold at in. Now Zealand..!nt the same time. Taking into consideration the expense freezing, freight, and liilndling,/! ask is it fair to the .people at this 'end? • ; " , Sonie 32 or 33 years back T myself have sold good wother legs of miitton'at '6d., 9d. arid Is. each, but would be sorry to.see a return to those, times I,do. really thirik'.'ilfat we 1 have: gone to the ote am, JM ITH, j, .-,.-; -..--. 1 ■.■■■'.■-,.- .. r=". .■■■»■ IMPORTANT SALE OF DAIRY LAND The dairying industry has assumed such large proportions iin the) Wairarapa, and has proved so.highly remunerative that a .keen demand exists fo* land adapted for dairying purposes.. Tho announcement that . 933 'acres or magnificent cow country, adjoining the Atairarapa Lake, is to be'offered'at auction.by Messrs. Abraham and Williams on exceptional terms, will therefore be received with- interest. The property is that of Mr. Arthur Robinson, of Wliareroto, Kahautara. The soil is said to be unsurpassed in the district, the locality is good, and there is an abundance of-water." ,The property has been , divided into five sections, ranging in area from 125 to 200 acres, and there is ' a cheese factory and dwellings ' already nppn-.it. ' An area of 208 acres adjoining, and of equally good quality, is to be 6ft'ered on behalf of Mr. Drummoud M'Master.' This sale should afford a splendid opportunity for the man of limited means to procure-for himself a permanent home, as the terms are exceptionally easy. Only 10 per cent, deposit is required, 10 per cent, in twelvo' months, and the balance spread over five years at 5 J per cent. The sale takes place in Masterton on 'April 18. Plans may be inspected at the offices of the auctioneers, Messrs. Abraham _and Williams, Ltd.